Highlights
- Frustrating video game bosses can sometimes make players want to quit.
- Genie in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an irritating early boss fight with slow text crawl and annoying taunts.
- Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty can be frustrating if players don't keep a close eye on Raiden's surroundings.
When done right, video game bosses are a level's final test for the player. They challenge all the skills they've spent the last few hours honing. The end-stage boss is that last thrill at the end of a roller coaster, a milestone to look back on, or a mandatory humbling moment. Or at least, that's how they're supposed to be.
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Whether in an attempt to pad playtime, poor balance, or a lack of QA feedback, these bosses are just as awful and infuriating as those bosses in real life who enforce unpaid overtime or steal credit for good ideas. Whether through the ability to infinitely heal, being an HP sponge, or through a completely out-of-the-blue gameplay change, these bosses just make players want to quit without handing in their notice.
1 Genie
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- His annoying taunts seem to go on forever
- A surprisingly tricky boss for the second dungeon
As the second boss of Link's Awakening, Genie certainly isn't the most difficult to beat. However, a combination of his stupid, rasping expression, flickering movements, and obnoxiously slow and unskippable text crawl after every successful hit ("NYAH NYAH! You can't hurt me as long as I have my bottle!") places him as an easy opener for a most irritating early boss fight.
As well as dodging some fairly tightly-aimed fireballs (made a little easier in the Switch remake, especially with those extra text-tells), Genie's animations are as drawn out as his constant chattering.
2 Vamp
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty
- Moves way faster than Raiden can accurately aim
- Shadow magic that just feels like cheating
Bosses in the Metal Gear Solid series are never arbitrary. They are as emotionally impactful as they are challenging and usually put the player through their paces. After defeating them (and witnessing some of the longest death scenes ever put to cutscenes), the player feels as though they have increased a skill: using a sniper rifle, their dueling odds, or explosive expertise.
However, coming out of the fight with Vamp in Sons of Liberty without knowing how to deal with him leaves players with as much bewilderment as they might feel after witnessing someone getting shot in the forehead and standing up a moment later. Having to keep an eye on Raiden's shadow in an already dark environment is not something the player would have ever expected to do in a military stealth shooter, and while his speed dancing up in the upper struts is impressive, it gets annoying after reloading for the tenth time because of another shadow attack.
3 Gyorg
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64 , GameCube
- Released
- October 26, 2000
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Genre(s)
- Action , Adventure
- An underwater fight in a water level
After a lengthy excursion through a water level, one of gaming's most infamously frustrating ordeals, an aggravating round with an underwater boss at the bottom of a deep, dark pit is the last thing any player wants to experience. Even when Link successfully lands an attack, it's never effectively telegraphed to the player.
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This, as well as the combination of having to float in a 3D space with a camera that can only lock forward, Link's limited mobility even in Zora form, and Gyorg's relentless surprise attack chain, (which can come from any part of the pool), make frying this fish a frustrating finale, and one of Zelda's most boring bosses in a series with an otherwise gripping rogues' gallery.
4 Gruntilda Winkybunion
Banjo Kazooie
- Getting eggs in Jinjo's hole can quickly take its toll
- Airborn attacks are already so hard to aim; the protracted rounds make the whole fight a pain
After catching her insults in lame fairytale rhyme, keen-eyed players will beat Grunty's quiz in record time. The duo chases her to the top of her tower, where they take on the witch with all of her power. Dodging her attacks is easy (for the most part), the trouble is aiming Kazooie's egg farts.
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After pummeling her in the air with hit after hit, Grunty throws up a shield and taunts the player to quit. A Jinjo statue arrives and offers to break down the wall, but the egg-hole's hitbox seems awfully small. Even with double-max health, this boss is a pain. Ask any Banjo-Kazooie fan, they'll likely say the same.
5 Sephiroth
Kingdom Hearts 2
- An excessively spongy health bar and unrelenting attacks make this optional fight a marathon
- A solo fight, meaning healing has to be done manually
Dazzlingly fast fire blasts and unpredictable swipes, many Kingdom Hearts 2 fans struggled with this iconic white-haired, black-trenchcoat-wearing badass. After surviving his blitz of attacks, there is only a slim window of about a second to stun Sephiroth with a chain of combos before the dance begins anew.
Under-leveled players should consider taking on this boss fight in a padded room, lest they break something expensive. The key to success is pattern memorization, keeping a good distance (especially for his special attack), and balancing maneuverability with healing. However, even with the pattern down, it will likely take many game-overs before this angel sings.
6 Bed Of Chaos
Dark Souls
- Unblockable attacks, the falling floor, and midair knockbacks are rage-inducing
- The way back to the boss is as long as it is chocked with monsters
Yes, the Soulsborne series is notoriously tough, and that goes doubly for any of its iconic bosses. Any number of big bads (from Demon's Souls to Elden Ring) could easily find a home on a list of infuriating fights. However, in a game without a jump button, this jump-puzzle-themed boss seems like a particularly unreasonable obstacle to overcome, even for veteran Souls players.
Unblockable flame attacks, endlessly reaching tendrils with a knockback touch, and of course, a continuously crumbling floor with a bottomless pit beneath, make pruning this beast a real hassle. Worst of all, between each failure, the Chosen Undead has to run back through a punishing gauntlet of angry demons before getting another stab at jumping across the pit of death.
